$150 million in fisheries aid put off until mid-January

Thursday

Jan 3, 2013 at 12:01 AMJan 3, 2013 at 8:16 AM

A bill that will provide funding for communities affected by Hurricane Sandy and that also includes $150 million for fisheries disaster relief will now be voted on in two parts, leaving the fate of funds for local fishing grounds up in the air until Jan. 15, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

A bill that will provide funding for communities affected by Hurricane Sandy and that also includes $150 million for fisheries disaster relief will now be voted on in two parts, leaving the fate of funds for local fishing grounds up in the air until Jan. 15, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

House leadership decided not to allow a vote on the bill, which had already passed in the Senate Wednesday, reversing a previously announced schedule, according to a news release from Saving Seafood, a fishing industry advocacy group.

"Over the course of our history, there have been natural disasters across our country and, without question, Congress has passed legislation to provide aid to those affected each time," said Rep. Bill Keating, D-Mass., in a statement Wednesday night. "Now, it is families on the East Coast suffering after Hurricane Sandy and our fishermen who have been dealing with their own economic disaster who need relief. Yet the House Republican leadership has failed to bring the aid package to the floor. ... Shame on the House leadership for not doing their job."

The House is expected to vote on $9 billion in funding for pressing needs Friday and the remaining $51 billion on Jan. 15. New England, Alaska and Gulf Coast fisheries would share the $150 million in relief funds.

Other lawmakers took issue with the House's inability to settle the bill's fate Wednesday.

"Now, work on this important issue will have to start over in the next Congress and assistance for the families, fishermen and small businesses devastated by these economic and natural disasters will be unnecessarily delayed," said Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., who advocated for the inclusion of fisheries disaster assistance funding in any Hurricane Sandy relief legislation, in a statement. "As soon as the new Congress convenes, I will work with colleagues representing the impacted people and areas and keep pressing this issue to ensure appropriate relief is provided to those who need it."